On Saturday, November 8 Ms Maureen Scheepers was on her way to work when she stopped at Klipfontein to draw money.
“There was no one around, so I got out my car, walked up to the ATM and put my card in. I chose the language and next thing I heard a BMW pull up next to me and someone jumped out,” she said.
Her assailant grabbed her by the wrist and said ‘Put pin, put pin!’
“I hesitated and felt him press his gun against my back, I put the pin in and he quickly pushed the cancel button, the card jammed,” she added.
The robber snatched the card out from the machine and ran off, got into the BMW and drove away.
“I immediately called my bank. I was on the line for about two minutes when they answered my call, I was told that the account had been emptied, only 30 cents remained,” said Scheepers.
According to what Scheepers was told by the bank, there were a total of four transactions in those two minutes, two of which were ATM withdrawals, while another two involved her card being swiped at two separate machines situated in the Tasbet Park area.
A security guard stationed at the garage near the ATM saw what had happened and called it in, within minutes the police arrived and were able to assist Scheepers with her report.
“I closed my account and opened a new one fearing they would get access to other information related to my account,” said Scheepers.
Another cloning took place on November 6 when Ms Zodwa Moloi went to draw money at Saveways Shopping Centre.
“A man approached me and told me that the machine wasn’t working and that I should rather use the one he had finished at,” said Moloi.
Moloi first attempted to use the machine she originally intended on using, when it didn’t work she followed the stranger’s advice.
“He said I should lift my card a bit when inserting it into the machine. I asked him why, he grabbed my card from my hand and it looked like he forced it into the machine, I tried cancelling the transaction but nothing happened,” added Moloi.
Another man came forward and told Moloi that she should just put her pin in the machine and that it would be alright. Moloi sensing something was up, didn’t put her pin in and the two men walked off leaving her at the ATM.
Another man approached her saying that she should call her bank, he passed her his phone saying that he had already dialled the number.
“I answered the call and provided my necessary details to the consultant on the other end of the line, as well as my pin. The consultant told me that my account had been blocked and I need not worry,” said Moloi.
Moloi retuned home only to find that money had indeed been withdrawn from her account. She immediately called her bank and was informed that he account had not been blocked and that she had been scammed.
Three other cases of fraud were opened at Witbank Police regarding card cloning and card theft.
“We advise the community to never give out their pin to anyone, and do not accept help from any stranger while you are operating an ATM. People should also inspect any ATM before using it and never let your card out of your sight when you swipe via a speed point. It takes minutes for thieves to empty your account and the process of having your money returned to you from the bank may take up to six weeks,” said Capt Eddie Hall, Witbank Police Communications.
Visit the SAPS website for information regarding the prevention of card cloning, theft and fraud.
